Arkansas governor calls for changes to controversial 'religious freedom' bill

The governor of Arkansas says he wants the state’s legislature to recall a “religious freedom” bill sent to his desk on Tuesday following a national uproar over the legislation, the second time this week a US governor has faced a backlash to laws that opponents say permit discrimination against gay people.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, also known as HB1228, was passed by the Arkansas house of representatives on Tuesday despite intense criticism of a similar bill in Indiana that was signed into law on Monday. Protests formed at both states’ capitals, and the Arkansas law drew criticism from organizations as diverse as Walmart and the American Civil Liberties Union.

“The issue on the table is the [RFRA], which I want to enact in Arkansas in the right form,” said Governor Asa Hutchinson. “I don’t believe in workplaces that discriminate, whether it’s Tyson, or whether it’s Walmart, or whether it’s Dillard’s, or whether it’s state government, and I will express that view in an executive order when it’s prepared.”

Even Hutchinson’s son apparently asked the Arkansas governor to veto the legislation, signing a petition against the religious freedom bill.

“My son Seth signed the petition asking me, dad, the governor, to veto this bill,” he said in a news conference on Wednesday morning. “And he gave me permission to make that reference, and it shows that families – and there’s a generational difference of opinion on these issues.”

While proponents of the Arkansas bill say it mirrors federal legislation passed in 1993, opponents say the state’s law goes much further, allowing individuals to file suit, and potentially emboldening those who may discriminate.

“I’m asking the legislature to take a look at this bill, to recall it, or to change it, to make the Arkansas RFRA law mirror the federal law,” said Hutchinson. “What’s on my desk – it does not mirror the federal RFRA law, and that’s what I’d prefer, and that’s what I’d ask them to do.”

The Arkansas house of representatives was thrown into the national spotlight on Tuesday while debating the bill. Hours earlier, the governor of Indiana was forced to promise an amendment to his state’s RFRA law, after protests, national criticism and several high-profile editorials.

On Wednesday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in deciding to send the bill back to the legislature, Hutchinson was “obviously responding” to the earlier outcry in Indiana.

Both states have faced intense opposition from businesses. A widely cited editorial by the Apple CEO, Tim Cook, added momentum to the movement against the laws, and the Little Rock-based technology company Acxiom sent a letter to the governor comparing the law to the “shameful period” of Jim Crow segregation.

In past statements, Hutchinson had said he would support legislation that mirrors federal law, leading many to believe he would let the legislation pass into law, as he had done with other laws seen as anti-gay.

In February, the Instrastate Commerce Improvement Act, also known as SB202, became state statute. The law bars municipalities from creating new protected classes, after the city of Fayetteville, Arkansas, attempted to enact LGBT anti-discrimination protections.

If Hutchinson doesn’t veto HB1228, the bill will pass into law in five days, per Arkansas law. The law would take effect immediately.